Blue lights, blood, pools of beer – Alexanderplatz is that dangerous

By Til Biermann

There were 6,436 crimes in 2022, more than 17 per day. In 2023 there were already 4,472 by the end of August, including 366 physical injuries.

“Young refugees, homeless people and young people commit crimes primarily in the late afternoon to night hours,” says the police, who set up a police station in containers in the middle of the Alex in 2017. Show presence, prevent crimes – that was the goal.

The success is manageable.

In the past few weeks there have been fights and stabbings around Alex almost every day. Some examples:

▶︎ August 25th, 1:30 a.m.: A dispute at the fountains under the television tower ends with two people injured.

▶︎ September 1st: Several young men had to be taken to hospitals after fights at night.

▶︎ September 3rd: At around 9 p.m., a man injured by a knife drags himself into the police station.

BILD wanted to know: How dangerous is a night on Alex really? We reporters spent a warm September night there, from Thursday evening to Friday morning.

The protocol of the night

8:45 p.m.: Two lawyers – both named Elena, 33 years old and from Cyprus – take Instagram photos on a tree in front of the world clock. One of the Elenas says: “It’s nice here.”

21 clock: A “Gipsy Kings” cover band plays Spanish guitar music on a stage in front of the People’s Friendship Fountain. A drunk tries to start a fight. But no one argues.

9:15 p.m.: A drunk couple sat down between beer bottles in front of the entrance to the train station. They hold each other tightly. She doesn’t seem to mind that it smells like a broken toilet around her.

9.30 p.m.: Behind the TV tower near the water features. The police are very far away and there are often fights here. Boys dance Arabic dances. A girl says to someone who chats her up: “Shut up, you son of a bitch.”

22 O `clock: Kim from South Korea stands in front of his work of art in front of the train station building: he has drawn mushrooms and snails on the pavement with chalk. A few passers-by leave him some change.

“At first there was stress,” he remembers his first time at Alex. In 2017, a man stabbed him in the eye right here and beat him so badly that he suffered brain damage. He came back anyway and continued painting. “I’m respected now.”

“Jesus has set me free”

23 o’clock: A young man stands at the world clock and hands out Bibles: “I was a drug addict. Jesus has freed me. I have been born again.”

11:58 p.m.: Emergency medical intervention! A young man lies in the ambulance. A paramedic: “He took too many substances that are not good for the body.”

“My foot is in the ass”

12:15 a.m.: A man in a torn blue hospital gown lies at the entrance to the train station. Huge Chechens from the security service want to get him to stand up.

“My foot is in my ass!” shouts the man lying on the ground. “I can not get up! I’m not a bum! I have money! Get an ambulance!” One of the security guards says about the man: “He keeps coming back.”

1 O ‘clock: Drunk young women chat up police officers on patrol. “It’s great that you’re here. How is it for you in your private life? Do you also use handcuffs?” A woman puts her back to the car: “Oh, I really need to be arrested, I was really bad.”

The officers laugh, enjoying the joke. One guy gets out, takes out a breathalyzer and lets the ladies blow. “1.2 per mille! That would mean you would lose your driving license!”

“Breathless through the night”

2 O ‘clock: “Breathlessly Through the Night” plays in front of the “Carambar” next to the railway bridge. A bottle collector dances with the revelers. Then he unpacks a bottle of white wine and continues drinking alone.

3 o’clock: A BSR cleaning vehicle cleans the sticky area. Spit, spilled beer residue, urine everywhere.

“Pack it up, the cock, let it flow now”

3:15 a.m.: A homeless man with no toes on his grotesquely swollen feet sleeps in a wheelchair in the train station. Indian sitar sounds are playing from a portable radio; the homeless man has taken out his penis and has just peed on the floor.

Police officers rule him over. “Pack it up, the cock, run it now.” Then they push the man in front of the door.

A cleaning man rushes over and wipes away the pool of urine.

“You want to forget what’s outside”

3.30 a.m.: The “broom closet” under the tracks is open as always. The gay bar has been around for 60 years.

How has Alex developed over the decades? It hasn’t become a better place. A guest: “When you’re in the bar, you want to forget what’s outside.”

4 o’clock: The fire department drives with blue lights to the Kaufhof building, which is currently being renovated. False alarm. A construction worker relaxes and smokes in front of the door and says: “It’s like a smoke detector inside, a little dust is enough.”

A night like many others on Alex passes by.

The result: There were no serious injuries. Not this time.